It has been a tumultuous year in South African politics, but we end it in slightly better shape than we started it – with a dangerous president increasingly running out of road, writes Arthur Christopher.

Comrades draws 19 617 entrants

Almost 20 000 people would take part in the Comrades Marathon in May, including a host of elite athletes, the organisers announced today.

The 86th edition of the race, an “up” run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, will be held on May 29, and the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) said 19 617 people had entered the gruelling race.

“After the excitement of the Fifa World Cup last year, the Comrades Marathon also celebrated a great year,” said CMA chairman Peter Pollock.

“However, coming off the back of that, it is exciting to see that the 2011 race attracted 19,617 entrants.”

Entries poured in from around the world, the CMA said.

The United Kingdom produced the most foreign entrants from one country with 253 runners, the United States boasted 179 entries, Australia would be represented by 152 runners and Brazil had 115 people taking part.

The organisers also said the race had attracted 4 882 novices.

The top 10 men and women from last year’s “down” run had all entered this year’s event, and an elite team of Ethiopian men would toe the line for the first time.

The CMA said the Ethiopians were expected to pose a formidable threat to the challenge from South Africans and Russians.

Join the conversation!

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

We reserve editorial discretion to decide what will be published. Read our comments policy for guidelines on contributions.

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.